23. 08. 2010     www.metalbite.com   JD

Czechoslovakian Metal is usually blatantly brutal in its delivery, maliciously sadistic in it’s messages and comes across completely unrelenting in every aspect you can get. That was why Six Degrees Of Separation caught my attention right from the first note. This is not Death Metal... it as heavy as any Death Metal, yet is more than that. Musically smooth yet still being profoundly heavy at the same time... Six Degrees Of Separation comes across as being artists that have made an astounding framework that ends up delivering some very staggeringly impressive metal. Old school metal melts fits perfectly into some shifting Nu-metal that is painted with a Power Metal vibe which seems to fuel the whole thing. When all of these varying style become well blended together, the results is a ‘wow’ factor moment that is off the charts. Slamming through eleven extremely well crafted metallic masterpieces that are on the CD, Six Degrees Of Separation maintains a remarkable grasp of making some of the most unforgettable melodies while still taking your head off with each and every slashing and biting guitar line. Each part of the band works together as one, each member contributing to the sound which shows that point outright. Six Degrees Of Separation have released one of those albums that just may surprise even the most jaded of us headbangers. It is all there on one shiny little disk, power, heaviness, intelligence and just overall metallic to the maximum, what more can a self respecting metalhead possibly ask for? 8.6/10

26. 07. 2010     www.daemonumzine.info

Some time ago we received from Czech Republic a promo CD called Moon 2002: Nocturnal Breed from the band Six Degrees of Separation. At that time they use to play Doom Metal, later they switched to Melodic Thrash, a genre that maybe is more appropriate for the message they want to spread now. Recently they sent to us their new album "Of us" a title that is easy know why they put it that name, just looking at the Cover art and read the songs titles and lyrics. About the music as I said this is a mixture between Melodic Metal and Thrash, a very attractive combination for lovers of both styles. The album begins furiously with F-2370 that is an excellent song, later there are more fast and direct tracks such as Of Common Guilt or For Jack; but most of them go from mid tempo to fast with a lot of harmony, for instance For Hanna, Unrealistic Ambitions, For me, For Fridrich. Six Degrees of Separation shows us their most progressive side on the tracks Guilt Is A Vector Of Time and For John, in my opinion these are the most interesting songs. The voice of Radek Zábojník (aka Doctor) is strong in a High-pitch note but it matches perfect with the music. The performance of Vlasa and Cani the guitar players it's incredible and with a high quality, playing clean and furious riffs with a lot of energy, in the same way is the drummer Pickard that is fast and convincing behind the drum kit. Something that I consider is the most important and interesting characteristic on this album are the lyrics, since we realize that they are very personal, I mean the lyrics are personal experiences from the members of the band that we don't know, making this a little bit hard to find out the real inspiration behind them. However, some of the songs discuss very common situations that can happen to anyone, for instance F-2370 is a real anthem for those that have a goal in life and doesn't matter what the others think, they always will have a dream..."We're still here sometimes not sure the reasons why but we feel now we are alive". The CD comes in an excellent digipack format, and of course with a very professional production and sound, so pick this up immediately!

01. 06. 2010     www.spirit-of-metal.com     GandhiEgo

When you’re looking for something highly unusual in Metal, you often find yourself looking at Japanese bands. I’m not sure if it’s the weather there or fucked up ancestral traditions that turn them into musical psychopaths but there is no denying that Japanese bands have the knack for giving us some of the weirdest music around here. On the other hand, Japan is not the only country to come up with weirdos. In Europe, we have our own musical ‘Japanese’ scene. It’s named the Czech Republic. Is it because these guys hold the European record for cannabis consumption? Is it because it’s freaking landlocked? We’d have to ask them but with bands like !T.o.o.H! or Likathea Aflame, to name only a few, they’ve proved to be quite the European counterpart of Japanese sub-culture. Six Degrees Of Separation is no exception to the rule. It’s definitely impossible to come up with labels when listening to this band. They embrace so many styles that it’s dizzying. Some tag it Dark Heavy Metal, some Doom Metal, some (very inspired ones) Thrashy Goth Death Doom and last but not least: Tri Metal. Yes, you read that well, Tri Metal. For those not geeky enough, this is a reference to Zelda video games. As if Link, Zelda's main protagonist, would bang his head while listening to Six Degrees Of Separations. By now, you should know that whatever I will write are mere words and words sometimes fail to depict the intricacies of a given situation. So many labels and yet most of them are fitting (well, minus the Tri Metal farce…). At times, the music of Six Degrees Of Separation feels like Heavy Metal, at time it’s a bit more Thrash Metal and due to some harsh vocals you get that Black/Death Metal touch added to this. Think also of songs whose construction is rather mind-blowing and you also get an almost progressive feel to it. My only concern would be the "Dark" epithet because I fail to see anything "Dark" or for that matter "Doom" in this kind of music even though from what I’ve read about the band this was more displayed in their earlier material. Overall, it's very happy music ridden with pop antics which probably makes for exhilarating live shows but the complexities of the songs make that hard to grasp. Of Us is really a singular album and it will take you (it took me) many listens to start to appreciate where the Czech were heading. Something complex and a little bit disturbing but yet with more open-mindedness than most Metal bands would ever display. I feel like this music, as pop’ish as it can get, is still rather hard to get into and this will probably prevent the Czech monsters from acquiring a more widespread audience. It’s almost as if half the members wanted to go “Devin Townsend” all the way while the other half was trying to make the music a bit more fitted for a larger public. This dichotomy you’ll feel from the very first notes. In the end, it’s hard for me to say that I really enjoyed this record though I cannot find any flaws except for, maybe, too much in too little a time. Amateurs of experimental and weird sounding Metal will probably revel in Six Degrees Of Separation but the traditional minds will certainly despise it. I guess it's up to you to decide at this point.

31. 05. 2010     www.metalzone.info   666XHE

The bases of expression of Six Degrees Of Separation are such tightly and deeply settled in consistent metal mould, that hardly anybody could move them. For somebody it can smack of stagnation, for others of entire naturalness. As for me personally, I belong to the second group, because any striking changes would be presently even unhealthy at  SDOS, and why to change something which is splendid and always working perfectly. That’s why also the new album „Of Us“ is permeated by SDOS spirit inside out. The rotating edge of genre blender again mills and mixes together black, death, doom and trash metal ingredients here. But this mixture does not have the poor taste of Friday hamburgers. Everything is absolutely fresh and flavoury rich. In case of SDOS we do not count with starter in shape of intro, and therefore we start directly with main dish, whose first bite  „F-2370“ charges you sensuously in the literal sense. Of course this would not satisfy you for a long time, and that’s why you should taste eagerly also the next pieces of this rich menu. At first sight the music of SDOS seems to be somehow more primitive, so I ask myself, where the miracle of single compositions is hidden? Positive energy and suggestive atmosphere were always the forte of the band, and that’s why I am focusing also on various details while listening. So and here I am fading the hidden power. SDOS derive benefit of each single sound of all instruments amazingly effectively, so nothing is left over here uselessly, and simultaneously nothing is missing. I dare say, that each tone has his exactly dedicated, and nevertheless absolutely natural place Simply said, the songwriter Muse did again not kiss SDOS, but it gave them fairly „French kiss“. Trying to find some mistakes here would be absolutely useless waste of time. Perhaps only certain flicker of similarity with band Paradise Lost in composition „Of Unrealistic Ambitions“ is something that not  everybody likes. When listening through the Doctor´s vocal, I am also finding here in some parts specific continuity with Nick Holmes, who moreover is just sitting at bear with Peavy Wagner. I would definitely not consider these continuities and similarities as any outstanding defects, but as I said, some damper could not like this. Yet I would like to mention one more band, or let’s say their album. While listening repetitively, already full of  „Of Us“ atmosphere, I realize, I had that similar delightful feelings I had while listening album „Skyforger“ by Amorphis. Even thought SDOS and Amorphis  do not have anything common as for music, genre and sound aspect, the positive energy and atmosphere radiating from both albums, in one word have similar effect on me. But this is just subjective view, that’s why either forget it, or try out of curiosity, if you would feel it same as  I do. Out of the help of CDs which I got to review, I purposely left „Of Us“ as the last one, because It could be the imaginary cherry on cake of reviews, and it is really like that. SDOS really knocked me down on my knees and I am much pleased that it happened. Although it can appear that no more gold is left to be prospected in the abandoned genre mine, SDOS managed to do so, and we do not talk about any pure dust, but pretty big golden boulders. 9,5/10

29. 05. 2010     www.metal-sound.net     Vladimir Petković

Forth album from Czech metalheads delivering to us a wide combination of progressive, death, doom and thrash metal, that relays on heritage of those like Death, Metallica, Kreator, Root and such. Material is highly original and unique but odd also, with much of musical variations and tempo changes. Composition structures are pretty much broken and complex, and hard to get to ears at first listening. Creativity and musical skills of band members are on high level, and material sounds supremely professional. Interesting is how band uses variation of emotions to create proper atmosphere in songs, and with no difficulties band manages to do that. Material carries influences from grand masters, but also, band pours some modern elements, which are giving requiring freshness and musical potability. Concept of the album is as title reflects, personal, and each of the songs are dedicated to people or friends that are connected to band members (band even sung about them selves). On this terrain band gets more pluses, as uses interesting thematic for the album. Production is nicely done, with accent on darker tones and apostrophe on keeping of emotion vibe that flows thru entire album. Highlights of the album: ‘’Of Common Guilt’’, ‘’F – 2370’’, ‘’For Hannah’’ and ‘’Guilt is a Vector of Time’’. 9

24. 05. 2010     Noizz

Una larga trayectoria avala a esta formación de la República Checa que responde al nombre de SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, siendo a finales de 1996 cuando se dan los primeros pasos de la banda tras la desaparición de una anterior banda llamada ABYSS. Desde aquellos inicios las cosas se han ido moviendo y como es lógico también ha habido algunos cambios, pero por el camino han quedado varios discos que han ido marcando las etapas del grupo, hasta llegar al punto actual con el nuevo álbum titulado “Of Us” que ahora nos ocupa y que es la apuesta del grupo para demostrar que en 2010 todavía les queda mucha energía que desatar a base de un Metal con influencias extremas. La cuidada y elegante presentación del disco en formato Digipack da una primera sensación bastante positiva, además tanto por los colores como por la imagen de la cubierta ya podemos intuir que nos encontramos ante un trabajo desgarrado y melancólico. Y efectivamente así es, por lo menos en una buena parte, aunque siempre desde una perspectiva dentro del Metal más enérgico como comentaba al comienzo. Se puede hablar de una combinación de Rock-Metal actual con Thrash y con las inconfundibles melodías y agresividad del Death Metal menos virulento. Un Metal muy variado que incorpora diferentes registros vocales, ritmos cambiantes, contundencia, melodías con un toque melancólico... en fin, un trabajo muy completo y coherente de principio a fin que en líneas generales resulta bastante atractivo, pero que para ser honestos no destaca especialmente en ninguna de sus facetas. En cuanto a la producción se podrían haber mejorado algunas cosas para dotar de mayor intensidad al sonido del álbum, sin que esto suponga que el disco suene mal. De lo que no cabe duda es de que si te gusta el Death Metal melódico de corte clásico con influencias como el Thrash o el Rock-Metal actual entonces deberías darle una escucha a este “Of Us” ya que consigue una mezcla de estilos muy compacta que no defraudará a quienes gusten de un sonido agresivo con melodías melancólicas y desarrollos interesantes, que sin ser especialmente complejos al menos si muestran una cuidada elaboración a la hora de componer los temas. Cincuenta minutos, repartidos en once cortes, en los que SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION nos ofrecen su dinamismo metalizado. 7,5/10

14. 04. 2010     Metallized.it     The Darius

La storia dei Six Degrees Of Separation inizia nell' inverno 1996 nella Repubblica Ceca, quando la band nasce dalle ceneri degli Abyss. Dopo moltissimi cambi di line up e un'intensa attività live la band dà alle stampe ben tre full length: Moon 2002: Nocturnal Breed del 2001, Triotus, Tricephalus And Tribadism del 2005 e Chain-Driven Sunset del 2007, tutti editi dalla label Elysion. Lo stile del gruppo in questi primi tre album segue perfettamente i canoni del doom metal, riff lugubri e oscuri adagiati sui letti di tastiere opprimenti, ma dopo la defezione del tastierista Miroslav Minarik e la covocalist Magdalena Malinokova la band decide di dare una decisa virata al proprio sound non sostituendo più i due elementi. Questa è la genesi di Of Us. Il sapore più deciso e intenso che contraddistingue il nuovo album della band è sicuramente quello dettato dal forte riffage thrash. Le cadenze e i downtempo di una volta sono stati radicalmente limati, trasformati in lame affilate e arrugginite. F-2370 e For Hannah iniziano così, in maniera rapida e veloce, ritmiche serratissime al confine tra il power e il thrash coadiuvate dalle tantissime armonizzazioni chitarristiche che conferiscono ai brani un tocco decisamente epico. La voce del frontman Doctor raggiunge range molto sporchi, scream che ricordano quelli di Alexi Laiho dei finnici Children Of Bodom, per poi rilassarsi notevolmente nei ritornelli molto catchy e ricchi di melodicità. L'album, se pur molto più veloce rispetto alle precedenti release, conserva ancora quella carica tenebrosa e maligna degli esordi come in Of Common Guilt e Guilt Is A Vector Of Time. Ma il finale del platter è sicuramente la parte più gustosa dell'opera, con due brani come For John e Felicitas, pezzi che lambiscono il progressive e soprattutto il math, tra riff sapientemente incastrati l'uno nell'altro e stacchi di batteria molto dinamici che ci mostrano chiaramente l'alto livello tecnico della band. Un album spettacolare direte voi: ricco, vario e con un'interessante commistione di generi... e invece no. La varietas di Of Us rischia di diventare proprio il suo tallone di Achille. I continui cambiamenti stilistici infatti non danno unità e coesione al lavoro che alla fine dei giochi non riesce a catalizzare perfettamente l'attenzione dell'ascoltatore risultando in molti punti pesante. I Six Degrees Of Separation dovrebbero decidere cosa suonare realmente, se gettarsi nel granitico riffage thrash, buttarsi a capofitto nel prog-math o se tornare alle loro antiche radici doom. Le contaminazioni stilistiche di ogni sorta sono sempre ben accette, ma bisogna attuarle con criterio e con una certa sapienza musicale. Meglio far poco e bene che strafare. 60

14. 04. 2010     Nbc.Art.pl     kaReL

Ależ Czesi nabrali niesamowitego pędu! Pamiętam Six Degrees Of Separation jako kapelę młodą, niedoświadczoną, ale poszukującą swojego brzmienia już od pierwszych zarejestrowanych dźwięków! To było pięć lat temu. Od tego czasu ich albumy ukazują się z zaskakującą regularnością. Dwa lata przerwy i nowy album. Tyle też czasu dzieli "Of Us" od poprzednika, na którym poprzeczka została ustawiona bardzo wysoko. Tymczasem ich ostatnia produkcja stoi przed ogromną szansą przebicia niebanalnej zawartości "Chain-driven Sunset". Zespół osiągnał kolejny poziom wtajemniczenia a pozyskane na przestrzeni kilkunastu miesięcy umiejętności w całości wykorzystał przy pisaniu najnowszej płyty. Poprawie uległy dwa kluczowe elementy, bez którego ciężko o sukces. Chwytliwość materiału i miodność riffów! Ten band potrafi tworzyć naprawdę przebojowe tematy przy jednoczesnym zachowaniu stricte metalowego, opartego na ciężarze, szkieletu kompozycji. Melodyka to bardzo mocny punkt "Of Us". Jednak wbrew przypuszczeniom nikt tutaj nie wybrał się na wycieczkę po Goeteborgu. To by było zdecydowanie zbyt proste rozwiązanie! A że Pepiki najwyraźniej lubią wyzwania to tym lepiej dla nas. Na szczęście nic tutaj nie odbywa się kosztem słuchacza - dla mnie od początku do końca muzyka jest intrygująca. Może to zasługa doprowadzonej do perfekcji fuzji dwóch fundamentalnych gatunków metalu - thrash'u i heavy? Prawdopodobnie tak właśnie jest! Wygląda na to, że żaden z elementów, z których zbudowana została "Of Us", nie został zaniedbany. Z każdego z nich wyciągnięto możliwe maksimum, co zaowocowało materiałem niemalże doskonałym! Znakomicie też rozwiązano kwestie wokali - dwóch rzeczywistych wokalistów potrafiło stworzyć bardzo rozbudowaną bazę głosów (tu akurat jest wszystko, począwszy od heavy, przez death aż po black!), dzięki czemu na pewno nie będziecie się w ich towarzystwie męczyć. Zaskakujące jest też to, że z językiem Szekspira radzą sobie lepiej niż większość naszych gardłowych. O każdym z utworów można by napisać osobną historię, więc ograniczę się do kilku epitetów takich jak barwne, rozbudowane, porywające, dopracowane. Na pewno nie są trywialne i niejedna kapela mogła by się od nich nauczyć pewnych podstawowych, ale jakże istotnych rzeczy. Podoba mi się to, że za każdym razem chcą coś udowodnić nie tylko słuchaczom, ale przede wszystkim sobie! Ich wytrwałość i zdolność ciągłego samodoskonalenia są godne naśladowania! Warto więc docenić ogromny wysiłek włożony w powstanie tak wybornej płyty jak "Of Us" i zaopatrzyć się w egzemplarz opakowany w bardzo schludny digipack. 9/10

07. 04. 2010     Metal.de     Lorenz.Beyer

Hinter einem Vorhang aus langen Haaren sind wir Metaler doch eigentlich alle Softies, die ihre Gefühlsprobleme mit Machogehabe überspielen. Oder? Naja, diese Beschreibung ist wohl doch eher ein Schnellschuss der Kategorie Hyperblast. Aber ein bisschen was ist schon dran: Metal und Emotionalität war immer ein schwieriges Thema. Doch es gibt eine Alternative zum (mittlerweile) nervigen Emo-Gejaule. SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION haben mit "Of Us" ein sehr persönliches und emotionales Album eingespielt. Sie gehen mit ihren Gefühlen um wie eine Doom Metal-Band. Stark, nicht weinerlich, stellen sie sich der inneren Dunkelheit und verwandeln sie in eine Form von Metal, die mit Genre-Schubladen umgeht wie die Frauen in Salvator Dalis Bild "Die brennende Giraffe". Schubladen sind ein Teil, aber nicht das Ganze. Rock, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal und dieser verdammt ehrliche Gefühlsausdruck ergeben eine unverkennbare musikalische Identität. Die Songs sind fast alle einer bestimmen Person gewidmet, mit Titeln wie "For Hannah", "For Fridrich" oder "For Me". Es geht um zwischenmenschliche Beziehungen, um die Fehler und Schwächen jedes Einzelnen und um den Mut weiter zu machen, auch wenn nie alles Friede-Freude-Eierkuchen sein wird. Bei lyrischen Perlen wie "Carved into time stay all our acts / like flies in the diamant" verzeiht man gerne, wenn die englische Grammatik an anderer Stelle mal ein bisschen holpert. Das fällt sowieso nur im Booklet auf. Musikalisch geben sich SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION detailreich und vielfältig. Sie schütten eine Fülle von Klangfarben aus und brauen daraus ihre eigene dunkel-bunte Mischung. Auch wenn jeder Song aus zig Teilen besteht, irgendwann kommt der einprägsame Refrain und das Ohr kann sich einhaken. Langzeitwirkung entfalten die Songs "For Me", "Guilt Is A Vector Of Time" und "For John". Ein paar nicht so spannende Passagen haben sich leider auch eingeschlichen, und die Gesangsmelodien ähneln sich ab und zu. Alles in allem ist "Of Us" aber ein angenehm anderes Album. SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION machen auch auf ihrer vierten Platte wieder Metal, der sich jeder weiteren Kategorisierung verweigert. Sie legen einen selbstbewussten Seelenstriptease hin, der nie vor Tränen trieft. Punkte: 7/10